It's called socialism

Posted
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 1:00 pm

To the Editor:

The debate over whether President Barak Obama is a socialist is over and the answer is an unequivocal and resounding YES. Mr. Obama’s statements over the years have unmasked him for what he is, a socialist. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines socialism as: “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” The evidence of Mr. Obama’s socialist leanings were highlighted in a just released audio tape of Mr. Obama at an Oct. 19, 1998 speech at Loyola University where he stated, "I think that what we're going to have to do is somehow resuscitate the notion that government action can be effective at all," Obama says. "I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution – because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot." The point is undeniable, Mr. Obama believes in redistribution! Let’s not forget candidate Obama’s discussion with Joe Wurzelbacher “Joe the Plumber” on Oct. 12, 2008, when Mr. Obama stated, “It's not that I want to punish your success; I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you that they've got a chance to success, too. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.” Mr. Obama’s socialist leanings are punctuated in his own words to “spread the wealth around.”Mr. Obama more recently removed all doubt of who he is and what he believes in during a campaign rally in Roanoke, Va., on July 13, 2012, where he stated, “Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something – there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Mr. Obama’s mocking of people who took risks to better themselves shows his clear contempt for capitalism and his affinity for socialism. By the way, the socialist approach has never worked, does not work, and will never work. Greece, France and countless other countries have tried but failed to make socialism work. As former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher once said, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.” Stephen Pollard in a Jan. 18, 2009 book review noted that Mrs. Thatcher's crusade against socialism was not merely about economic efficiency and prosperity, but that above all, “it was that socialism itself – in all its incarnations, wherever and however it was applied – was morally corrupting.”Not only do Mr. Obama’s own statements reflect who he is, a socialist, his actions and policies as President of the United States clearly and undeniably demonstrate the direction he is taking this country. Here are just a few examples.l A record 46.7 million people in the United States were receiving food stamps in June 2012. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)l Forty-seven percent of people in the United States pay no federal income taxes. (Tax Policy Center, Washington, D.C.) As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."l Illegal aliens in the United States who paid no federal income taxes, received in 2011 federal tax refunds of $7.4 billion, up from $4.2 billion in 2010. (U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)l The Obama Administration has added over $5 trillion to the United States deficit since taking office. (U.S. Treasury) l In August 2012 alone, 380,000 Americans left the work force having given up all hope of finding a job. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)l President Obama lied to the American people when he said the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. “Obama care”) was not a tax, claiming it was constitutional under the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause. When President Obama sent his lawyer to argue the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, it was first argued that “Obama care” was constitutional under the commerce clause. That argument was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. President Obama then had his attorney offer a second argument that “Obama care” was constitutional because it was a tax. Unfortunately for all Americans, the tax argument carried the day and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “Obama care” in a 5-4 decision, ushering in Socialized medicine, along with the largest tax increase in U.S. history. The Affordable Care Act is now projected to cost the American taxpayers in excess of $1.76 trillion over a 10-year period. (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)l President Obama has, as he likes to say in Socialist speak, “invested” in alternative energies. An example of this would be Solyndra, which received $535 million of your tax dollars and then promptly went bankrupt. Hint, when you hear Mr. Obama, or his minions, use the phrase “invest,” put your hand on your wallet and run for the hills. “Invest” means spending more of your tax dollars. He conversely threatened capitalism and the coal industry with the following proclamation in January 2008. “So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can – it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.”l One in six people in the United States are living in poverty, with the overall poverty rate being 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million people, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. The official poverty level is defined as an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four. (U.S. Census Bureau)l President Obama has permanently grown the size of the U.S. federal government’s budget by 16.5 percent. (White House Office of Management and Budget. Budget of the United States Government) The federal government’s spending is one-sixth bigger today than it was projected to be at this point four years ago. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “A government big enough to supply you with everything you need is a government big enough to take away everything that you have … The course of history shows that as the government grows, liberty decreases.” The bigger question is not whether Mr. Obama is a socialist, which he clearly is, but why he refuses to admit that he is. The simple answer is that he knows that if he admits who he really is, people will run from him like he has the plague, which he does, and it’s called socialism. The simple question for voters is this: Would I vote for Barak Obama, or anyone for that matter, if they admitted they are a socialist?

Comments

Nice article of half truths, exaggerations and blatant lies. It's like saying "he said he doesn't like hot-dogs, therefore he's a vegan!" Listen, you don't like his policies. Fine. That's enough. There's no need to perpetuate the Red Scare 2.0. He's a Liberal. He's not Lenin. Relax and take a breath. Vote for Romney. It's cool.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

AlbertTCross

Wow! And I thought President Obama wasn't liberal enough.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

warwickfan

Great article, Keith. I agree with all of it. It is not lies -- all truths, and the writer showed his sources (usually government agencies), so I don't understand how anyone could see them as half truths or lies.

I wish more people would really learn the facts here as Keith has spelled out. Maybe then, they would see the light and vote for Romney!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Michael2012

Who cares unless you are part of the 1% of the population making all the money. Everyone else has nothing to lose having him as a president. I'd rather see him take care of the less fortunate than the top money makers in the country who don't need the help !!

what is worse? Socialism or corporate greed ? Corporate greed meaning the top upper management making all the money where as the employees are not taking care of finicially. The companies bottom line is more important than anything else.

Socialism at least distributes the wealth and is for the people. I'm not saying it is the best way to go but capitalism also has its flaws.

There is no evidence that capitalism creates jobs. We've all heard this falacy. The rich will create jobs if they have tax breaks and incentives. Well that didn't happen.

God Bless what is left of this country cause it's all down hill....

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

JohnStark

Mr. Johnston only tells half the story. Yes, our first Black President is clearly a socialist. And, yes, he does endorse redistributionist policies. And I'll concede the point that a record number of Americans are now dependent upon food stamps, and more broadly on government in some other form. OK, millions of seniors will soon be losing a variety of medical services on which they have come to depend, while hundreds of thousands of job producers will see their taxes raised in the understandable name of "fairness". And fine, one in six Americans in now living in poverty, RI's economy continues to resemble that of Mogadishu, and it is abundantly clear that dozens of countries are now exploiting what they see as weakness in America. I get all that. However, Mr. Johnston fails to mention that Michelle still looks fabulous in Versace, and Barack does an uncany immitation of Al Green. And for the thoughful RI voter, that's good enough for us!